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We
could begin by telling you how Larry Levan
was once a protégé of our DJ academy,
how Danny Rampling and friends came to us
for guidance on pharmaceuticals and holiday
destinations back in 1988, or how the global
clubbing scene has grown on the back of
our ceaseless attempts to push this culture
across the world. We could tell you this,
but of course we'd be talking absolute bollocks.
Instead, we can let you into a few badly-kept
secrets relating to why house trained has
come about, what we're trying to do with
it, and why you should give two shakes of
a cat's cock about us. Firstly, we like
good music, secondly, we like dancing around
like loons, and finally, we're arrogant
enough to believe we can put on a memorable
party when we set our minds to it. And that's
it basically, no plans for world domination
or a clothing line (as yet) - just some
good DJs playing good records in a nice
venue. Simple.
By way of some background to the night,
house trained is the baby of the team behind
London's sporadic vip? parties - the latest
of which was an NYE blow-out in a Farringdon
bar. While vip? events will still take place
as and when, the time was right for something
more club-oriented and more regular - enter
house trained. Securing a monthly slot at
the Lifthouse venue next to Fabric in EC1,
the new night will seek to put on DJs across
the venue's 3 floors that play their favourite
music with a passion. Be it deep house,
disco or Arabian cover-versions of rock
classics
(hopefully not the latter, we should add),
house trained is all about people we like,
rinsing the music they love.
Not only does Lifthouse have a 4am license,
it has a top-notch sound-system, 3 bars,
and
pub-price drinks (woo hoo!). Added to our
ludicrous door tax of only £6 or - even
better - £3 with guest-list (obtainable
by simply emailing names prior to the night
of a party), and forthcoming guests including
the legendary Steve Proctor of Shoom and
Better Days fame, and Chibuku Shake Shake's
rising star Wandy, it's sounding like not
a bad way to spend a Friday evening
don't you think?
house trained…no more shit on the floor.
A new night from the team that brought you
the famed vip? parties, house trained hopes
to take the 3-floored venue that is Lifthouse
and give it a proverbial kick up the arse
- musically, of course. Launching with a
headline set from the legend that is former
Better Days and Shoom resident Steve Proctor
in the house room, and a back-to-back mash-up
on the ground floor from
Uber Alles' Alex Waldron and Joe Goddard
of cult band Hot Chip, the aim of the parties
should be crystal clear - dance you f**kers!
Residents Neil Terry and Phil Loraine,
Manchester's Stig Strand, and Mark Haddon
complete the line up.
Steve Proctor
Somewhat of a legend in London acid
house circles, Steve is best known for the
sets he played alongside Danny Rampling
at seminal night Shoom - one of the first
clubs to truly replicate the early house
sounds of New York, Chicago and Ibiza in
the UK. Not only that, Steve also promoted
several successful and long-running parties
of his own - The Promised Land and later
Better Days being the best known. Both nights
have since passed into the capital's clubbing
folklore.
As well as being an experienced and highly
accomplished DJ, Steve has enjoyed production
and remix success with a number of acts,
including Soho and The Mock Turtles. For
anyone who has been lucky enough to bear
witness to the man's work, be it in DJ or
producer mode, his club appearances are
undoubtedly something to get excited about
- the hazy days of '89 have never seemed
closer (even for those either too young
or too forgetful to remember them).
Neil Terry
It was the mid/late
90's before house music really took a hold
on the life of London-based Neil Terry.
Quickly upgrading from belt-drive monstrosities
to Technics, it wasn't long before the start
of a DJ career that has spanned the past
6 years. Student gigs taking in various
unions, bars and the Ministry Of Sound progressed
into a desire to take what he had learned
and experienced at legendary clubs such
as Space @ Bar Rumba & Soulsonic @ Subterranea
and put his own spin
(no pun intended) on it. A friendship with
fellow house-head Phil Loraine, forged during
their early days as record company employees,
resulted in the birth of vip? - a night
which has to date held upwards of 30 parties
in venues around London. Built upon the
principle that fine music and friends make
for a great night out, the club has not
only branched out into hosting rooms for
fellow promoters, but has recently spawned
a new night entitled house trained. This
new monthly party, residing at the Lifthouse
venue next-door to the mighty Fabric in
Farringdon, will indulge Neil's love of
both underground house and mixed-up styles,
running as it does across two rooms and
seeking to bring in the finest guest DJs
from a variety of genres.
Musically, Neil has always sought to incorporate
both old and new into his sets, choosing
to play tracks that feel right in the mix
rather than simply churning out the newest
12"s. Favourite artists/producers include
DJ Q, Swag, DJ Sneak & Inland Knights, while
labels of choice range from Salsoul & Drop
to Classic & Junior. With forthcoming bookings
for one of the country's top clubs, Chibuku
Shake Shake, guest slots on Ministry Of
Sound Radio, and the promise of continued
success for his vip? & house trained nights,
2004 looks like being a year to remember.
Phil Loraine
Phil Loraine was born
on Merseyside in '75. Reared on a diet of
mix tapes and late-night radio,
his fixation with dance music began in the
early acid house days. At 15 he loaned a
mate's 1210s for a fortnight and rigged
them up to his Mum's stack system, which
he cheekily relocated to his bedroom. Some
four months later, the set-up was finally
dismantled and begrudgingly returned
to its rightful owners. Starved of opportunities
to build on the self-taught basics, it would
be three years or so before he was able
to pick up from where he had left off.
Distributing mix tapes to all and sundry
after invested some first-rate equipment
(courtesy of a student loan acquired during
a college stint), Phil took every available
opportunity to play at
house parties and a number of clubs - primarily
youth clubs, tennis clubs and the like!
Eventually trying his hand at putting on
some small nights of his own with a friend,
he got his first taste of
the world of promotion. The events drew
relatively small numbers but they provided
him with a vision of what was possible and
fuelled his motivation further. It was invaluable
experience.
Phil's first night-club flirtation came
when he was asked to play one of the back
rooms at Bowlers - a 10,000 capacity 'rave'
venue in Manchester. He made a handful of
appearances in the main arena but his sets
were dismissed as being 'too slow' for the
young, bpm-hungry crowd. Continuing to carve
out his own house sound, his break finally
came when he was invited to
warm up for Alistair Whitehead at the Void
club in Stoke-on-Trent on moving there in
'98. Phil began co-promoting the 2Pure night
on Thursdays before being offered a residency
at Horny at the same venue (run by Pete
& Russell of Progress fame). During this
time he warmed up for some of the best UK
DJs of the era, including Jeremy Healey,
Judge Jules, Graeme Park and Tall Paul,
sometimes finishing off the night himself
when the opportunity arose.
On moving to London in 2001, Phil landed
a job working for Def Jam UK and the now
defunct Talkin' Loud label. Still hungry
to put on nights of his own, he launched
vip? with Neil Terry in 2002,
putting on a free party in the heart of
central London for a couple of hundred friends
and guests. Since then, the night has sporadically
toured some of the capital's smaller capacity
venues,
relying first and foremost on word-of-mouth
promotion. Phil's passion for a good, old-fashioned,
straight-up house party is reflected in
the brand and his attitude towards the scene
and its people. Similarly, his new-found
preference for intimate venues is echoed
in his recent decision to
partner James Stephenson in a residency
at London's Firehouse club. That said, at
28 he's
still some way from complete burn out, so
don't expect to find him accompanied by
his pipe
and slippers in the studio just yet - a
new venture, house trained, kicks off in
early '04 at a 3-floored venue in London's
Farringdon.
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